Magick by Moonrise by Laura Navarre

Author: Laura Navarre
Publisher: Carina Press
Date of Publication:

Tudor England, 1556

A religious war is brewing. The Catholic Church relies on the ruthless reputation of Lord Beltran Nemesto, who tirelessly hunts down those who don't believe or who practice dark arts.

Half mortal, half Fae princess, Rhiannon le Fay is a healer trying to broker peace between the Faerie and mortal worlds. The Convergence is approaching, an occurrence every thousand years where the Veil that separates the two realms temporarily dissolves. Without her help, war between the two is inevitable.


Let me start by saying that Magick by Moonrise is a well written and well thought out book.  There is a lot of world building in this first book.  I liked both Rhiannon and Beltran and I found myself rooting for them to find a way to be together.

Having said all that, I found that the book just didn't work for me overall.  It may have been that there was too much of a mix of genres in the book.  There is fantasy, historical, and angels.  Because of this, the book was too densely packed for me to enjoy.  It dragged in places and I found myself skimming.

I do think that this book will work for anyone who loves both historical and fantasy together. Just because it didn't work for me, doesn't mean others won't enjoy it.  It has gotten good reviews and I think it should be given a chance.  So, check it out.

Throwback Thursday - 2 in one Nora Roberts novellas

I have 2 novellas by Nora Roberts today:

Ever After

Publisher:Jove Mass Market Paperback

First published in 1999 in the anthology Once Upon a Star

This compelling story by #1 "New York Times"-bestselling author Nora Roberts was originally published in the romance anthology "Once Upon a Star." Wearing an ancient star pendant, an enchanting woman journeys to an otherworldly land--and introduces a skeptical stranger to the magical powers of love.

Ever After was originally published in the anthology, Once Upon a Star, which features novellas by Nora Roberts, Jill Gregory, Ruth Ryan Langan, and Marianne Willman. It was recently released on audiobook.  There are only 3 discs so it is a really fast listen.  It was a nice little story about fate and destiny with a bit of a supernatural twist thrown in to the mix.  Elaine seems to be good at nothing, yet in her search for finding a place to fit in, she gains a ton of knowledge about a lot of things.  She just needed someone to point this out to her. This is where Connall comes in. He has hidden himself away on his family's island trying to ignore his destiny. I'm not sure I bought into Elaine falling in love with Connall after like 5 minutes.  I believed Connell's reluctance to buy into fate a bit more.Still, I liked them together and was rooting for them in the end. If you are looking for something light and easy to listen to on your ride into work, try this one out.

 

Winter Rose

Publisher:Jove Mass Market Paperback

First published in 2001 in the anthology Once Upon a Rose

On a remote island cursed with eternal winter, a young queen heals a wounded soldier--and warms her heart with the joys of true love.

Winter Rose is another novella that was published in an anthology.  Once Upon a Rose also features works by Jill Gregory, Ruth Ryan Langan, and Marianne Willman.  Winter Rose is a slight take on the Beauty and the Beast theme, except the princess is not a beast, she just does not have the capacity to love after being cursed by an evil aunt.  Prince Kyle stumbles into her kingdom which is forever encased in snow.  I think I liked this one better than Ever After.  I bought into the fairy tale and I do love a good fairy tale.  I think that this one could have made a good longer book had there been more background about Kyle.  I always want more with novellas.  This one is also 3 discs, so it is a very quick listen. Try it out!

Guest Post and review: Two Moons of Sera by Pavarti K. Tyler

Today we welcome author, Pavarti K. Tyler, who is promoting the first volume in her Two Moons of Sera series.  Welcome Pavarti!

Publisher: Fighting Monkey Press
Date of publication: November 2011
In a world where water and earth teem with life, Serafay is an anomaly. The result of genetic experiments on her mother's water-borne line Serafay will have to face the very people responsible to discover who she really is. But is she the only one? 

All the Fun of YA written for Adults 

Two Moons of Sera is a Fantasy/Romance and will be released in a serial format. The first volume is just shy of 20,000 words and will be priced at $0.99. Anyone who purchases it will receive all future volumes for free. However if you wait to get it until later, the price will go up with each addition.

My thoughts:  My only complaint about this first volume is that is ended too soon!  I wanted more and look forward to the next installment.  It was a very quick read.  The story is well written and the author reveals just enough about the world to keep the reader intrigued. I can't wait to see how the story of Serafay and Tor unfolds.

The Esoteric Reader - by Pavarti K Tyler

I'm willing to bet that half the books on my bookshelves are things you've never heard of.  I know, I sound like a snob when I say that, and in a way I am.  A literary snob.  Not because I've read and bow down to the greatness of canon (because I don't) but because I have made it my life's mission to find the books that are the most interesting, most unique, best crafted pieces of writing I can find.  It's been a hit or miss endeavor but in the end it's been worth it.

This is not to say that I don't enjoy a good NYTs best seller now and then.  Hell, I'm one of those "twilight people" you've been known to make fun of (don't pretend you haven't).  I love a good new Sookie book and often pick up whatever the newest big thing is when I'm at the airport.  But left to my own devices I'm more likely to check out the newest release from Interlink Books than Random House.

Perhaps this is why the idea of Indie Publishing is so exciting to me.  I've not put much stock in the idea that doing things the way everyone else does is a good thing.  I never have, just ask my family.  I didn't go to the college I received a scholarship at because it wasn't what I wanted to do.  I didn't marry a man my father approved of.  I didn't get a job as a high powered professional.  I didn't stay home with my kids like a good wife should.  In fact, anytime there's a rule, the only thing you can count on is that I'll try my damnedest to find a way to break it.

When seen in that light it's not surprising that I make my day to day living as an entrepreneur, or that I am drawn to the stories that are rarely told.  I certainly love a number of mainstream books but for a moment; let's revel in a few you may not know:

Moth Smoke - The world isn't really that big or complicated, we're all people

Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World - What is real?

Games of the Strong like Hunger Games? It was pretty much a direct rip-off of this

The Reapers Are the Angels - Zombies!  Brains!  The best book ever.

Amrita - What is it to be human?

A Sky So Close - A warzone through the eyes of a child

The Far Euphrates - the holocaust did so much more than kill people.

Changes: A Love Story - think you understand polygamy, you don't till you read this.

All of these books ARE traditionally published.  Many of them have won awards and achieved significant success.  I'm not special in my enjoyment of them, and believe me, I'm no high bar, Battlefield Earth is one of my absolute favorites (don't judge until you read it, you'll be shocked by how good it is).  But these are not titles you will see in your local bookstore, or in the Barnes and Noble "Staff Pics" section.  And why not?  What is it about them that renders them commercially unviable?

Probably the same thing that draws me to them.

These are stories that are not comfortable, are not familiar.  These are stories that challenge our minds in a way that Incarceron (which I couldn't even finish) simply does not.  I love a book that I can loose myself in so completely that I become another person, live another culture, revel in the sorrows and pain of a life I have never lived.

And this is my definition of success.  Why am I Indie Publishing?  Because I don't want to ever hear "yeah, but if you change this it will sell better."  Instead I want you to read it and then sit back, take a deep breath and shake your head, unable for a moment to be sure which world is real and which was within the pages of a book.


About the author:

Pavarti K Tyler is an artist, wife, mother and number-cruncher who has been committed to causing trouble since her first moment on this Earth. Her eclectic career has flirted with Broadway, Teaching, Law Firms and the IRS. Author of many short stories, Pavarti spans genres from Horror and Erotica all the way to Fantasy. Currently Pavarti is hard at work establishing her Indie Publishing CompanyFighting Monkey Press . 

Pavarti K Tyler's novel Two Moons of Sera is a Fantasy/Romance and will be released in a serial format beginning this fall. Her next novel Shadow on the Wall is scheduled for release in early 2012. Shadow on the Wall is Book One of The SandStorm Chronicles, the saga of Recai Osman — businessman, philosopher, Muslim and . . . superhero. 

You can follow her on Facebook, Twitter or her blog.